Auburn bowl destination: Tigers will play UCF in Peach Bowl

AUBURN, Ala. — Though the sting of a lopsided SEC Championship Game loss to Georgia is still fresh, Auburn football isn’t done yet.

As projected by most national media, Gus Malzahn’s team is headed to the Peach Bowl, as was announced on Sunday afternoon. The Tigers will play the undefeated UCF Knights in Atlanta on Jan. 1 (12:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

It will be Auburn’s second straight year with an appearance in a New Year’s Day bowl game after facing off against Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl last season.

Auburn’s placement in the New Year’s Six bowl game means that the Tigers will play 10 straight games in either Jordan-Hare Stadium or Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Auburn is set to start the 2018 season with yet another trip to Georgia for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game against the Washington Huskies.

UCF topped No. 16 Memphis in double-overtime to win the American Athletic Conference championship on Saturday and remain undefeated. Knights head coach Scott Frost, who played quarterback while leading Nebraska to a share of the 1997 national title, was announced as the new coach of the Cornhuskers on Saturday.

Though Frost will coach the Knights in their bowl game, he’s handed off preparation duties to UCF offensive coordinator Troy Walters.

Auburn and UCF have played three times before and the Tigers have won all three games.